Elegance and quality in the glass: a “revolutionary” Romagna wine

“Today being revolutionary means taking away rather than adding, slowing down rather than speeding up, valuing silence…” This is how Chiara Condello describes her philosophy and her view of the wine world — and to tell the truth, it is a way of thinking I have shared for a long time.

A very sweet smile and surprising determination. Captivating elegance. Overwhelming clarity of purpose. These were my impressions when I visited Chiara Condello.

Today Sadifruttirossi returns to Predappio, to a lovely hamlet known as “Borgo Condè”, at Fiumana di Predappio. Not far from the sea, among the Tuscan-Romagna hills, lies Borgo Condè Wine Resort, a beautiful agriturismo that makes wine and olive oil.

In this wonderful setting — where I recommend spending a few days with the people you love — I met Chiara and her wines. It was here, in 2015, that Chiara began her surprising, revolutionary wine project.

After tasting a Sangiovese from the Poggio di Sotto winery, an enthusiastic Chiara decided to start her adventure with three old vineyards over fifty years old, all between 150 and 350 metres on different clay soils — and with a piece of advice from the locals: “If you want to do well here, forget the clock and start looking at the calendar.”

A little simple lesson, as always: in this part of Romagna there are many kinds of clay — deep blue clays, red clays, calcareous soils, silt and rock. Here too the famous “spungone” gives the wines truly surprising sensations and length. But what is spungone? What are we talking about?

Spungone, from the dialect “spugnò” or “spungò” for its “spongy” look, is a particular calcareous sandstone that forms the Romagna hills from Bertinoro to Castrocaro Terme, via Meldola and Predappio. Three million years ago this rocky ridge was a splendid coral reef; today it is a natural heritage, with fascinating views that hold great biodiversity and many thermal springs, as well as excellent land for farming, wine and olive oil.

At Chiara’s, farming is organic and work is done plot by plot to bring out the quality of each vineyard. Fermentations are exclusively spontaneous and natural, with native yeasts that give the wine extraordinary complexity. Hand harvesting and whole-berry fermentation. Small-berried Sangiovese, all trained on spurred cordon.

A quick explanation: you can imagine that small-bunch Sangiovese has less pulp and proportionally more skin — and it’s from the skin that all the “good things” in wine are extracted, including colour and fruit intensity. Without getting too technical, for Chiara Sangiovese Piccolo is the ideal type to express her wines at their best.

Chiara makes two wines. The first bears her name, “CHIARA CONDELLO” Predappio: 100% Sangiovese, 15–25 days of maceration, a year’s ageing in Slavonian oak casks and steel. The second is the famous, sometimes hard-to-find (but do look for it and taste it) “LE LUCCIOLE”: 100% Sangiovese, 25–45 days of maceration, about two and a half years in large, lightly toasted casks that give elegant, delicate aromas. It is released every 1 September of the third year after the harvest.

Plenty of experience in Burgundy as a vineyard worker gave Chiara innovative, revolutionary techniques, such as fermenting with the stems.

Chiara calls herself a “guardian of the land”, and I really love the image.

Today Sadifruttirossi is tasting and pairing a “Chiara Condello Predappio 2020”. The Covid vintage — hard for many, but not for all. For nature it was a very balanced year with very high-quality light: good light means excellent photosynthesis, and we find it in the glass as quality.

Integrated, silky, pleasant tannins, never aggressive, fully reflecting the character of Predappio Sangiovese. Lots of fruit on the palate — and this time more than ever I like to say it “tastes of red fruit” (sa di frutti rossi). Looking for elegance in a wine? Buy Chiara’s wines. You’ll fall in love with them — I guarantee it for everyone.

Today’s pairing?

The tannin is present but never invasive; the elegance and persistence of this wine deserve to be showcased with an important dish, perhaps with truffle. Taste it. Try it. Have fun. Enjoy it. Chiara Condello is “quality to drink” from our beloved Romagna. Ready? Let’s drink…